Thank you, Mr. Chair. CropLife Canada thanks you and the other committee members for inviting us here to testify today.
CropLife Canada is the national trade association representing manufacturers, developers, and distributors of plant sciences innovation, including pest control products and plant biotechnology for use in agriculture, urban, and public health settings.
We are committed to protecting human health in the environment and providing a safe, abundant food supply for Canadians. We believe in driving innovation through continuous research.
CropLife Canada is a member of CropLife International, a global federation representing the plant sciences industry in 91 nations.
Our mission is to enable the plant sciences industry to bring the benefits of its technologies to farmers and the public. Those benefits manifest themselves in many different forms, including creating jobs, driving agricultural exports, strengthening the rural economy, and increasing tax revenue for governments.
The increased yields farmers get when they use crop protection and plant biotechnology products do more than just improve the bottom line for farmers. They stimulate economic activity that ripples through the entire Canadian economy. Crop protection products and plant biotechnology lead to quality and yield enhancements that lead to 97,000 additional full-time Canadian jobs in more than 20 different sectors, including manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and financial.
Increased crop production due to plant science technology generates $7.9 billion in value for farmers of field fruit and vegetable crops and creates $385 million in tax revenue for the three levels of government.
Plant science technology has also enhanced Canada's standing as a net exporter of food. About 65% of Canada's food surplus can be attributed to increased yields because farmers had access to our technologies.
Canadian families save 58% on their weekly grocery bill thanks to modern crop protection and plant biotechnology tools. In fact, Canadians currently spend only 10% of their household income on food, compared to over 18% in the 1960s.
The pace of innovation in plant biotechnology is increasing. Between April 2010 and March 2011, 177 new varieties of peas were registered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Seventy-nine percent of those varieties were registered by private sector feed companies. Biotechnology was a strong driver of this growth.
Globally companies invest about 11% of the profits directly back into research and development.
CropLife Canada would encourage the government to keep three key policy priorities, which we believe will grow the economy as a whole as well as the knowledge-based economy in particular.
The first would be to continue to negotiate and ultimately implement a comprehensive economic trade agreement with the European Union and to aggressively pursue new trade agreements with other major trading partners.
Collectively the EU represents the largest economy in the world. Outside of the United States, the EU represents Canada's most promising growth market for both commodities and value-added products. Our industry is strongly supportive of all efforts by the government to open global markets and to pursue trade agreements that will allow Canada's agricultural sector to grow and prosper.
Second would be to finish the work of the red tape reduction commission, ensuring that there are clear measurements of success across every government department and agency. Our industry made a submission to the red tape reduction commission, identifying a number of easily remedied regulatory issues across agencies and departments such as the Canada Food Inspection Agency, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, and Environment Canada.
The commission holds great promise for improving efficiency and fostering innovation, but only if every department and agency is held accountable for addressing the recommendations made to it by participants.
Finally, Mr. Chair, would be to set down clear markers for success in the work of the Regulatory Cooperation Council. Improving market access to the United States and knocking down regulatory barriers between the two nations will grow jobs and improve prosperity. The United States is our largest customer for agrifood exports, and will continue to be, due to proximity and a shared commitment to science-based regulations.
Canada's access to the United States market is vital to Canada's plant sciences sector and to many of our stakeholders. We look forward to clear progress being made on a host of regulatory inefficiencies and access choke points that hurt prosperity on both sides of the border. If these three key policy recommendations--increased trade, smarter regulations, and a reduction in Canada-U.S. border irritants--were struck, they could all make immediate, tangible contributions to enhance prosperity and competitiveness in the Canadian economy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I look forward to participating in the question period.